Cutter for biscuit and cracker cutting and embossing machines



March 18, 1952 J. E. WEIDENMILLER ET AL 2,589,907

CUTTER FOR BISCUITS AND CRACKER CUTTING AND EMBOSSING MACHINES Filed Dec. 15, 1949 2 SHEETS-SI-IEET l /7 FIG. 3

w 47 47 47 x f r--/4 45 37 i L i i I i 20' 5 INVENTORS 45 I205 24 JACK E.WEIDENMILLER ROBERT M. WEIDENMILLER ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 18,, 1952 2589,9111 enmem F011 B SQU Ami QBAQKER. TING. AND- EMBOSSING- MACHINES jac weiaenminee LincflnWod; and Robert- M. Weidfimilli'; skokiem, a issig'nofs to mward Weidnmille'r 00., hie, Morton Grove, Ill-., mcorpofation :of Illinois Ais flieemfiflieemfir 15, 1.9419; seem. 133,123 zen-His; (c1.-1'07=26 caekie and the like, and fiaijtieul-aily to su ary uttersof the kind that are used in cookie am cracker cutting and embossing mahin'els iii relatively lt'rge bakeries.

Iii 'such .craekef an'd'cookie cuttingiiii aim b'ossing machines, a continuous sheet of dough is advaneed oft belt'thfotigh a cuttifig St'atiefli'fi tfier'naohi n at which a: vertiaily iciiaioabl cutti rig or farming dieis' ino'ied and down 21; it relatively rapid rate 'sodto cut arelative lr g f'fiuifibef or crackers oi" coek ies i-il each vertical movement,- or the e'utti'ng' die. Wh'efe 'suh mach-mes are used re 'foi'fi'zihg embessee' eiackers or beck-ms; a two-eyele ei'ztti fig an f fniI-ig" bflldtibfi is iii-Some ilistafifi utilized wheieifl an embossed pattfri is blid'l'lpo'fi the dotih te position of the-Sheet me if the iacRefS are-e11 jii'rth fieX't Station oi posi t-io'li; Still flirthei 'stichembossing' anew-minginecmhe s may, m seme ir'mstm'es; be -i'rarigd to more laid zixbossed cracker ofr cookie thioi-i'ih the 'bifoiihhee of c-iittixi'g "aiid 'embesi'h g meiatibii'sgatth-sifm positiofi of'the defig-h sheet". The p-i'eselit invention relates" to 'all 'of these types of efitting ahd formingd-evice's; and irl pe rtieulai' it is'the brimaiy' ob j eet f the piesent' ihv'ilfibh toenable suh cii'ttereto be so eonst'r'uixted airenged thrt tfi'e claiiih of the-uttet's afld the related Struotfire imaterial-1y 'iinpli-fied'.

1'11- iieh butters; a's heiemrore constructed, the

cutting-dieshave been mounted a bolster block afid hjae beef! fssoiated Witha stripper-plate in such a'. manner that the ihte'rilal surface at the structures; have-embodied it laigemimbfof eencealeq br inaccessible; corners anarec s ses t at, 'coum hot be reached conveniently 'm r attaiphi'eht of a proper meaning operat on,- and it will -be reo'ogfiizec'l, of 'oo'urse, that in th'e"pj1fb=- duct-ion of crackers, cookies and the like; the Iarious ihatefi'al'stend tot-ocumulate-xoir the machinery and that iti'eessehtial that'pi'opi' cleaning of the efiparatus be attained. More 'speifialibi-Jt is an object of the piesent ,inven tion to enable the bolster plate in subh cutters to be formed with relatively's'inooth upper and lgiWen'shffao'S "and to ielnte'th'ebolsterv plate to the other "ele'rnehts of the a'pp'ai'etus that-these- Sui'fac es maj freadilybe reached by meaning memes-non a'sfsteamjets'and theyl-ike. A farthei and 'r'elted object of 'thepi'eseiltfinvention is to 'si-mpnrymesqp porc of thecutti'ng' apparatus in the cutting machine and to 'e'nablethis to be accomp is e in; 'Such a: wayv that breakage of: the "sfififibiift'ihg 'ei'e'ifiehts' i's' am-am head of the cutting machine by means: of conneeti'hg or supporting af'che', end'theefrehes. a heiet'ofc me employed have been of suh' '2,-

chraeter'that the efche have been subject to fieQurit breakage; and to enable thi to be" v"aj i'c'lecl is tfl object of the present invermem the s'trii pei" plate to its lewermosb'pesiti'om- ""laekeii91 cookie. cuttingapparatus; afliifi' v.....en1b1'e iimst oi? the drilling operations that: must ee brfdfihd in, the manufacture of udh $111391- memes; thed'tiis, the knbekout or embOSSihg iiliit'e;

. bolster plate or blok' and the sti'ippei -plite, are held in a 'si ngl-ela-mping fixture.

Other and further objects of the present invem tifon will be apparentfrom the following descriptii-i 1nd 0121111519 and are illustrated in the-- accom- Y panymg drawings, which; by way e f-illustration; show preferred embodiments am' the fari h iples thereof and what We now consider to be web-est m as in which we have contem lated apelymg may be made-as d's'ir 'ed by those skilled ih tlie art-Without depni'tifig from the present inv'efition.

aitd the purview of the appended claims:

Ip-the drawings: Fig. 1 is a front elevational viewbfja cutter unit: embodying the'inventi'on;

tiifiei ent positions," I

Fig; 7 is a view similar-to ig. 3' anct showingrvgn embossing cutter. embodying the invent-fen; an

Fig. 8"i s"1 viw-si-milarto Fig. 4am. Showin the cutter of Fig '1.

or :p u'rpos'e's 'of diselo' stiie the invenfien i's hefeinilmsti'ated ih- Figist l 1706' as embodied cum-rig; 1mm w adapted for erfermanee or ci'aek'ereuttihg" operati ns,- aha-1n- Figs; 7 ends as; embodied" in amembossing' and butting unit.

.1 iiI- when" my may cuts crackerss br- 'ebofi'feis from a dough sheet but also embosses a pattern on the upper faces of such crackers or cookies. Both of the units In and Ill) embody basic elements that correspond in name and general function with elements embodied in prior cutters, and it should be observed that the present invention resides in the form, construction and relationship of these elements as will be described in detail after the various elements have been identified and described in a general manner. Both forms of the invention are adapted for mounting and use in the same type of conventional machine in which a cutting bed plate II is arranged to have a dough sheetD drawn or advanced longitudinally thereof on an endless belt B between spaced striker bars I2 that are afforded along opposite sides of .a cutting. and forming station in the machine. and forming station is, in such conventional machines, defined in part by a vertically reciprocable horizontalmounting bar I3 which serves to support and-operate the forming means, such as the cuttingunit ID. v v

-Theunits-I I] and I i5 are in many respects similarin-form and construction, and byreason of the novel form and relationship of their elements, the units It and III) have the same advantages insofar as strength, economy of manufacture and ease of cleaning ma be concerned. Considering first the novel construction and arrangement of the unit It, it will be observed the unit I embodies a rectangular bolster plateI4 that is supported on and beneath the bar I3-by a plurality of mounting arches I5 that are connected at their upper ends to the bar I3 by means such as bolts I3. 'Ihe arches I5 are disposed at pointsspaced longitudinally of the bolster plate I4, and each arch I5 comprises a horizontal upper bar portion I5T, from the ends of, which force transmitting legs I5L extend downwardly and outwardly so as to terminate in enlarged connecting feet I5F that are disposed over and adjacent to opposite border or side edge portions of the bolster plate I4 to which such connecting feet I5F are respectively secured by a plurality of Allen head cap screws I! that extend downwardly through the feet I5F and into tapped relation with the bolster plate I4.

The lower face of the bolster plate I4 serves as asupport for a plurality of downward extending cutters that are distributed about the lower surface of the bolster plate. I4 .in spaced relation to the ends and side edges of the plate. The cutters 20 are shaped in plan-form so as to produce crackers or the like of the desired shape, and as herein shown are generally circular inv planform. Each cutter 20' has a continuous side wall which at-itsupper end bears against the lower face of the bolster plate I4, and integral attaching ears 20E extend from opposite sides of the cutter at the upper edge thereof so that screws 20S extended upwardly through such ears may serve to hold the cutter in position. The lower edge of the wall of each cutter 20 is tapered to a sharp lower cutting edge 200. Thus, when the bolster plate I4 is moved downwardly through its operating stroke, the cutters 20 are effective to out the dough sheet D to form crackers C, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

It is, of course, essential that the dough sheet D and'the cut crackers G beheld against upward movement with the. cutters 20, and for this purpose a lower stripper plate 24 and internal'strippers are provided. The stripper plate 24 is in theformrof a rectangular'plate of the same shape Such cutting part within the feet I5F of the arches I5. The

and size as the bolster plate I4, and openings 21 are formed in the stripper plate 24 through which the respective cutters 20 may extend and move in relatively closely spaced relation. The internal strippers 25 are disposed within the respective cutters 2D inclosely spaced relation to the inside surfaces ofthe walls of. the cutters. The internal strippers 25 are supported so that their lower surfaces are in the same plane as the lower face of the stripper plate 24, and in accomplishing this, each internal stripper 25 has an upwardly extended supporting bolt 28 fixed thereto and which is slidably extended through a clearance bore 29 formed in the bolster plate I4. Above the bolster plate I4, each bolt 28 has its shouldered and reduced upperend extended through a related opening 3I formed in a knockout plate 34. A nut is threaded-"onto the upper end of each bolt 28 to: fix the same to the knockout plate 34. This knockout plate 343is of a length equal to that of the bolster plate, but in width, the knockout plate 34 is arranged to fit between the inner sides of the feet I5F. of the arches I5, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. I

The knockout plate 34 andthe stripper plate 24 are,. in turn, connected together so as to move in unison, and for this purpose a plurality of connecting studs 36 have their lower ends shouldered, and threaded into the stripper plate 24, and these studs extend upwardly through bores 31 in the bolster plate I4. The upper ends of the studs 36 are shouldered and reduced,'and are extended through bores 33 in the knockout plate 34, and washers and nuts 4| on the extended and threaded upper ends of the studs 36 serve to hold the knockout plate 34 in position on the studs 36.

The lowermost position of the stripper plate 24 is determined by engagement of the ends of the knockout plate 34 with resilient bumper strips 43 carried on the upper surface of the bolster plate I4, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, andthe stripper plate I5 is urged toward this relation by spring means. Thus, as will be evident in Figs. 1 to 3. of the drawings, twoexpansive coil springs 45 are provided in the area covered by each foot I5F of each arch I5, and these springs 45 are respectively mounted in surrounding relation to guide studs 46 that extend upwardly from the stripper plate 24. In order to afford an efiicient length in the springs 45, these springs are extended upwardly through bores 41 in the bolster plate I4 landinto-bores 4}).that extend upwardly into the-feet'I5F of,the arches I5, suchbores 41 and 49 affording downwardly facing pockets so that the upper ends of the springs 45 are disposed in springs 45 act, of course, to urge the stripper plate 24 and the knockout plate 34 to the lower relation that is determined by the pads or bumper strips 43. K I

In operation, the downward movement of the bar I 3 shifts the unit I0 downward from the position of Figs. 1 and 3, and in the course of'such downward movement the ends of the stripper plate 24 strike the striker bars I2, as shown in Fig. 4, so that in the continued downward movement of'the barI3, the cutters 20 move out of their retracted positions of Fig. 4" and into their projecting cutting'positions of Fig. 5, thereby ,to cut crackers C1 from the dough sheet D at the. lower end of, the cutter stroke. In the retracting movement offthe bar ISIthe-strippers 25 and the strip per' plate 24 remainintheir lower positions of Fig. fi while the bolster plate I4 and the cutters 20 move upwardly, thereby to retract the cutters 20 and cause stripping of the crackers C and dough sheet D in the event of sticking of the dough to the cutters.

In the unit I I0, the internal members I25 within the cutters 20 are utilized as embossing members and have embossing surfaces I25E on their lower surfaces, and such members I25 are arranged for embossing movements independently of the stripper plate 24. Thus, the members I25 are connected by bolts 28 to an embossin plate I34 which in its form is substantially similar to the plate 34. However, the plate I34 is associated with the stripper plate 24 in a somewhat different manner. Thus, studs I36 are fixed to the stripper plate 24 and extend upwardly and slidably through bores I36B in the embossing plate I34, and washers I40 and nuts I4I are fixed on the upper ends of the studs I36. Springs I42 surround the studs I36 and act between the plates 24 and I34. Rubber bumpers 43 are provided, as in the unit I0, so that the parts tend to move through the same cycle as described with respect to the unit Ill. However, the embossing plate I34 may in this instance be independently actuated in the conventional manner to produce the desired embossing action.

In attaining the objectives of the present invention, the bolster block or plate I4, the stripper plate 24 and the knockout plate 34 or its counterpart, the embossing plate I34, are all made from flat-surfaced, rolled metal plates of rectangular form, and because of this, the surfaces of these plates may be readily and easily cleaned by conventional means such as steam jets. Moreover, the bolster plate or block I4 is made from steel so that the requisite strength in the bolster plate is attained by the use of a plate of relatively small thickness, and this contributes to the attainment of adequate spacing between the several plates so as to simplify the cleaning operations. In this respect, of course, it will be evident that the complete unit ID or I I must have a maximum overall vertical dimension that is determined by the design of commercial cracker and cookie cutting machines. Thus, in combination with the relatively thin bolster plate or block I 4, the mounting arches I have, under the present invention, been formed and arranged so that the legs I5L extend downwardly from the top bar I5T of the arches at a relatively small angle from the vertical, and the lower ends of the legs I5L merge with the top surfaces of the vertically extended feet IBF so that the downward forces are transmitted efficiently and without excessive bending or shearing forces that might tend to cause failure of the arches I5. Furthermore, the relatively large vertical distance that has been afiorded in the present units between the top of the bolster plate or block I4 and the tops of the arches I5 enables the feet I5F to have a relatively great vertical dimension, and hence the spring retaining pockets 49 may be afiorded Within the several feet ISF.

The strength requirements of the stripper plate 24 and the knockout plate 34 or embossing plate I34 may, of course, be met by a material such as rolled bronze, and since this material is more easily workable, we prefer to use it, particularly in the stripper plate 24 where machining of the openings 2'! may in some instances be complicated as to form. Regardless of the specific material employed in such plates, it is to be observed that the major portion of the drilling and tapping operations on the several plates of any particular cutter are performed on common centers so that the layout and the drilling and tapping operations are simplified to a marked degree.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the present invention materially simplifies the production as well as the upkeep and cleaning of cracker and cookie cutting and embossing units. More specifically, it will be clear that the present invention affords mounting arches in such cutters that will not tend to crack or break in use, and that the cutting unit may be effectually cleaned by reason of the smoother and more conveniently aecessible surfaces that are afforded in the unit.

We claim;

1. In a cutting unit of the character described having a cutter-carrying bolster block and a stripper plate supported beneath the bolster block in surrounding relation to the cutters and for limited downward movement relative to the bolster block, the combination of a plurality of mounting arches each comprising an elongated upper connecting portion, legs extended downwardly and outwardly from opposite ends of said upper portion and vertically elongated connecting feet at the lower ends of said legs, said feet being engaged with said upper surface of said bolster block at the opposite edges thereof and the space between said legs affording a clearance space extended along the top of said bolster block, said arches being spaced longitudinally of and being fixed to said bolster block, said bolster block and said feet having upwardly extending pockets formed therein, and a plurality of springs acting at their lower ends against said stripper plate and disposed at their upper ends in said pockets in said block and said feet to urge said stripper plate downwardly relative to said bolster block.

2. A cutting unit as defined in claim 1 in which said bolster block and said stripper plate are formed from flat metal plates afiording flat upper and lower surfaces that may be readily cleaned.

JACK E. WEIDENMILLER. ROBERT M. WEIDENMILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS .Number Name Date 1,419,276 Lentz June 13, 1922 1,660,553 Greene et al Feb. 28, 1928 2,153,067 Alltimes Apr. 4, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 275,123 Great Britain July 22, 1927 

